My exposure to fledgling Full Contact

 

I realize there were full contact fights before I began karate. I had read about those in the karate magazines. And in some sense the old bare knuckle kumite when I began at times was akin to full contact.

 

I started learning how to kumite before Safety Gear was sold. When it came out we were trained in its use. The foam gear really was just for safety from mistakes, not designed for full contact use.  And as time passed other gear was created.

 

Around the late 1970's they started to be regional full contact leagues. I never trained for such, and never became much interested in same. What follows is episodic in nature, just what I  observed from time to time.

 

Back about 1980 a NJ promoter held some fights in Scranton at the CYC which drew many boxing cards (Scranton was a boxing city). I went to see what it looked like, and was amazed one of my Seniors, had a competitor from his club fighting. I went down to say hi, and found myself volunteered to work in her corner.  Simply she defeated her opponent, and we went out for a bite to eat later, then I discovered my original instructors were looking into the full contact fight game.

 

I attended another fight in Easton just to watch. What was there was very uneven. One fight one fighter was knocked down to his knees. The judge did not stop the fight, and his opponent kicked him squarely in the head for a KO.  I knew better than allowing kicks to an immobile competitor. Left a sour taste in my mouth.

 

A solid guy I knew from a local Kempo club decided he should fignt full contact. He was an experienced black belt and would not follow the advice of his instructor or anyone else. The promoter was trying to build up a regional league, and wanted all fighters to be trained by his people. The guy I knew would not do that, instead he chose to be trained by Scranton boxing  trainers he knew. That irritated the promoter and the person he was to fight was changed to an experienced NYC  fighter. There was a local winner who faced another NJ beginner. That satisfied the promoter. The guy I knew was big, 6’6” big, but it was also the first time he fought full contact. His opponent was quite experienced and for 3 rounds threw on a whooping. That is how I would describe it. The end result he spent 3 days in the hospital recovering.  That showed me many things.

 

My original instructors had students who wanted to fight, So they joined another regional league where the fight cards featured, wrestling, boxing and full contact karate. They  trained their fighters well and had success. But eventually they realized almost all of their time was being spent developing the few who would fight, and not on their karate classes, which meant more for them. They choose each to return their program just to karate. I only heard about this 2^nd  hand, I was not able to travel and watch their fights.

 

Another school, a Shotokan one, had a strong black belt who wanted to give it a try. Although his instructor cautioned him that it was wrong he did fight. Took a beating.

 

From that I agreed that Karate was not Full Contact. They could appear to be similar, but were quite different things. I was not interested in what was Full Contact, karate was more than enough for me.

 

 Then I moved to NH and restarted my program there. Went to several local tournaments and events more to scope out what was in the area. I attended a multiple discipline event in Salem NH. I remember there was a Kung Fu demonstration from Boston,

 

A local instructor drafted me out of the stands to judge in a youth kata competition between his school and another local program. I was snookered, because the group his students were competing against, well, they were unlike any karate I had ever seen. Some how I judged, but continually was biting my tongue to keep from laughing. Not that I would do that to any kid, ever.  Returning to the stands I retook my seat alongside my wife.

 

Then the big event. A local Full Contact  school champion, against a local student of which discipline I didn’t know. It was clear from his appearance he was out of shape and didn’t belong fighting. A set up to make their ‘champion’ look good.

 

The fight began and my assumption was right. That guy had no way he should have been fighting with the other fighter. He could not defend himself, not even to cover up. He simply took a beating. Over and over. Then the first round ended. The fighters went to their corners.

 

The main fighter had many people in his corner to look after him.

 

The sap had no one there for him, He staggered into the crowd asking for a coke.

 

I realized how dangerous that was, and realized there was no one to care for him, To even be merciful and throw in a towel.

 

The more I saw the more concerned I became I kept telling my wife this is wrong.

 

Then I stood up in the stands, I decided I was going to stop this. I would not tolerate a geek show for this crowd. I started to go down to do so, but my wife grabbed my arm pulling me to a stop. Telling me that I could do nothing but make more trouble.

Then she guided me to leave.

 

The entire affair left me with a foul taste in my mouth, and at everyone who permitted it to happen, myself included. I was very new to that area, and hardly knew anybody at all.

 

But that ended any interest in Full Contact from that point forward.

 

It was not what I did, and truthfully had no relation to what I knew of as karate. When anyone ever approached me about training for that, I politely explained that is not what I do, and suggested they try elsewhere.

 

There is of course more behind my decision.

 

For one thing most people don’t think about how short a shelf life those who engage in contact sports tend to have. I have read most pro football players have a hard time lasting 5 years before their physical problems bring their career to a close. I have heard that most Thai fighters last less than 5 years. Of course there are those exceptions, but a sport in all its versions that train you to place a beating on your opponent and to survive a beating on yourself is not what I ever wanted.

 

To me the goal is 1) to train to a point where you can insert a technique into any attack and doing so conclude that attack, and 2) use your training to help you have a longer life.

 

So as a result of what I have seen and experienced I just made different choices.

 

Others can do as the please, but for myself Isshinryu karate is more than enough.